What We're Made Of
by Sopheryl
Summary: Kurogane Suwa was just a bodyguard wanting to change himself. Fai Flourite was just the owner of a cafe wanting to remain exactly the same. AU, KuroFai, in progress
1. Chapter 0 Session 1

_A/N: I promised I didn't forget about this! I have a few things I'm working on, so I got a bit distracted. So sorry~_

_Warnings : KuroFai fic, slow fic, social fic, AU fic. There's one Sci-Fi element - highly advanced false limbs and organs. They're on the pricey side, but with good upkeep they can last a long time. (As a frame of reference, think 'I, Robot' for the look and whatnot. If you haven't watched the movie, I recommend it.)_

_Anyways, this beginning is an odd one - but the next chapter should be up in a few days. But here's the low down. Every few chapters, we'll take a look into Kurogane's counseling sessions. It'll be pretty much just dialogue to counter how heavy the narration is in this story so far. Now, I'm no expert in psychology, so they won't be perfect, but I'm not afraid to say that I _have_ been to counseling for myself, so I have some experience. Anyways, that said…Here you go!_

* * *

"Now then, Mister Suwa. May I call you Kurogane? Excellent."

"Aren't you even going to let me answer?"

"Nope! Kurogane it is." Yuko Ichihara smiled as she looked up at her latest patient. Kurogane Suwa. Profession, bodyguard. One body enhancement, an arm, Gin Ryuu model, and looking for more of the same line. "It says here you want to replace you other arm, an eye, and…oh my, even your legs? That's quite the set of procedures."

"Yeah," Kurogane grunted, sitting back in the large chair. "But I can't do anything until you write that I'm sane enough to do it. So just mark it off and I'll be out of your hair."

"Hmmm…" Yuko tapped her lips with the end of her pencil, then set the clipboard away and crossed her legs, smiling mysteriously. "Why do you want these enhancements?"

"Is that any of your business?" Kurogane openly glared.

Hostile personality. Quite defensive. Yuko made mental notes as she continued to smile. "Of course it is, it's the exact reason I'm here. Well then. If you could have any wish, what would it be?"

"For this stupid session to be over," Kurogane muttered. "To be stronger."

"Why?"

"That's a stupid question. I want to be strong, to be stronger."

"Why do you want to be stronger?" Yuko tilted her head. When Kurogane just shrugged, Yuko laughed. "Fine, then, we can tackle that later." She looked up at the wall, behind Kurogane. "Well, we still have fifty minutes. Why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"It's all on the paper," Kurogane said, nodding at the clipboard.

"Let's see. Your schooling. Your occupation. Family medical history. No, I don't see you here, I only see what you've done." Yuko smiled. "In order to grant your wish, you'll need to pay a price. And that starts with telling me about yourself. So go ahead and talk, tough guy."

Kurogane growled, but complied. "I was born in Japan, 24 years ago…."


	2. Chapter 1 The Cafe

_A/N: Okay, so here's the real start! Before you all jump in to read…it's entirely possible that I've been reading a bit too much Nathanial Hawthorne, so the way this reads might be a little….heavy. However, I feel like my voice is in there enough to make for a good read._

_Anyways…there's some name/couples in here (Syaoran and Sakura, Touya and Yukito). I have no idea how a café is run, guys, so I'm just totally making things up. Ha ha ha. I'm fully aware that things might be, probably are, unrealistic and what not…but come on. It's a fanfic!_

_I'll try to update this again next Monday, but so I know…review and tell me how you feel about the narration and length! Keep in mind that there will be more dialogue later, when characters really start interacting._

* * *

On the corner of Celes street and 13rd street , there was a nice little café that opened early and closed late. It was warm, inviting, and cozy in the winter. In the spring, as soon it was warm enough, tables were moved outside to the front, and the small patio on the second level was unlocked, allowing people to drink and eat outside. Eventually , when it got too cold, the doors would be locked, and people would be stuck inside the first or second level, but no one seemed to mind.

Somehow, the Cat's Eye café was quite popular.

Was it the coffee? No, it couldn't be. It was just coffee. Delicious coffee, and other drinks, but nothing that one couldn't make at home with practice or get somewhere else.

Perhaps what made it so nice were the baked goods, instead? No, no. They, too, were delicious, and there was always a fresh batch of scones, or muffins, or cookies to replace the last just as they sold out, as if by magic. But no, that wasn't what kept people coming back.

Oh, maybe it was the location! It was the nearest, reasonably priced (and the all around 'nicest' according to a decent amount of people) café near the Tsubasa College's main branch. On any given day, half the café was full of people with textbooks open, chatting and studying together while they drank their coffee. No, that couldn't be it. There were, after all, other cafes that were a bit closer, if a bit higher priced. Still, The Tsubasa College was a rather cushy place, and many of the people that went there were a bit privileged. A few extra dollars spent on coffee each week would have been unimportant.

No, it must have been the owner, a rather eccentric young blond man. He worked as hard as any of his hired people, of course, and seemed to be always be smiling while balancing a million things. On any given day he could be taking orders, or serving, or working in the kitchen, usually thinking of the next task even while working on his current one. He always seemed to be a step ahead of everyone else in his employment. It became somewhat of a spectator sport to watch others try to keep up, especially when it was Sakura, the cute girl that was usually behind the counter taking the orders. (She was sweet, but just a bit clumsy)

Yes, indeed, it must have been him, Fai D. Flowright (no one knew that the D stood for, and Fai never mentioned it). It was the only explanation for why the Cat's Eye Cafe did so well. Perhaps it was his skills in multitasking, or his looks, or his charming personality that drew people there. Or perhaps it was that one never quite knew what to expect around him. One moment he could be getting orders, and in another moment he could be leading a table (and eventually a large corner of the main room) in a rousing chorus of whatever song was playing on the radio. It was simply his personality.

It was surely him. There was no other explanation.

It was nine at night, which meant this last group of people were mostly from the evening classes at the college. It was also spring, which meant the semester was just ending, which meant finals, which meant everyone was studying.

"Syaoran! How good to see you!" Fai said, waving from the counter as the archaeology-majoring student walked in. With a grin, he looked back into the kitchen through a sort of 'window' behind the counter and under the menus on the wall. "Saaaakura, your boyfriend's here!" He announced.

"Syaoran?" The girl looked up at the window in the wall, blushing and covered with flour. "G…Give me just a second!" She said, before going back to her work in the kitchen.

"Are you here to pick her up?" Fai asked, laughing as Syaoran walked over to the counter. "You want your usual?"

"Yeah, and yes please," Syaoran said, smiling, a little embarrassed, though not near as much as the girl in the kitchen.

"For a daaaaate?" Fai grinned as the young man just nodded, still blushing. "That's what I thought! Aaah, young love, it's so sweet." He turned around, making a coffee drink for Syaoran, and another for Sakura. "Here we go," he said, placing them on the counter as Sakura came out, pulling on her jacket. "You two keep warm! It's only spring, so it's still cold at night. But I bet you two won't have any trouble staying warm?" He winked as the two turned a whole new shade of red. "On the house," Fai said, when Syaoran dug for his wallet, then made a shooing motion. "Now! Off with both of you! Don't waste your youth hanging around a dump like this!"

"Thank you!" Sakura said, taking her drink with one hand, and Syaoran's arm with another.

"Take good care of her," Fai said, waving a finger at Syaoran. "Or everyone here will be after you! Right boys?" He waved at a group of college students in the corner, one of which was Touya, Sakura's older brother (and part time worker in the café along side his younger sibling).

"That's right. Brat," Touya said, narrowing his eyes at Syaoran while a lighter-haired man, Yukito, laughed and tried to calm Touya down. Sakura just stuck out her tongue at her older brother and lead, or maybe dragged, Syaoran out before the usual sibling argument could start.

Fai just laughed and made sure the bell was in place on the front counter before going to the kitchen to make sure that the scone dough Sakura had been working on actually made it into the oven. It had, so he whistled to the radio as he loaded cups and mugs into the dishwasher. He started it up just in time to hear the bell on the counter ring. "Coming!" He called, and took a deep breath of the bakery-scented air before leaving the kitchen. "What can I get for….you?" He paused as he looked at the counter.

Oh yes, this tall, dark stranger was certainly handsome, wasn't he? And those eyes! Fai was certain he'd never seen such a red.

Fai cleared his throat, recovering from looking the other man over. "Sorry, what can I get for you?" He smiled as he looked up at the man - up! Fai just reached the man's shoulders, and Fai wasn't exactly short. Of course he wasn't the tallest person in the world, but he still wasn't short by any means. Maybe average. No, he affirmed to himself as he mused it over, he was a little above average.

"One white chocolate steamer, one plain coffee, both small," the man said, tossing the money on the counter.

"That'll be just a second," Fai said, ringing it up. The cash register opened and he pulled out change, handing it to the man along with the receipt. "For here or to go?"

"Here," the man said, practically a grunt.

"Go ahead and take a seat, I'll bring it to you, mister…?" Fai trailed off, hoping for a name to go with the face.

"Kurogane," the man said casually, walking off to sit in the corner next to the windows, looking out.

"Not a name you hear everyday," Fai said to himself with a laugh, before falling into his usual humming-to-the-radio while he made the drinks. He had (almost) everything on his menu memorized, of course. His hands moved automatically to make the drinks, not that they were complicated. He set the cups on a tray on the counter, looking up as the bell on the door jingled. He waved at Tomoyo as she walked in, and she waved back before going over to the same table that Kurogane was at.

"Aaaah, tall, dark, and handsome is taken," Fai said, dramatically, draping a hand across his forehead. There were a few laughs at his antics and he laughed it off with ease, flashing a smile at anyone who had laughed. He picked up the tray, walking over. "Here we are!" He said, setting the drinks down. He held the tray to his chest, smiling at Tomoyo. "You aren't looking for Sakura, are you? She's on a date!"

"Is that so?" Tomoyo smiled as she picked up the cup with the white chocolate in it. She sighed. "I was hoping to see her."

"Well, she'll be back tomorrow!" Fai grinned, leaning down closer to Tomoyo. "Should I leave you and _your_ date alone?"

"I'm not her date!" Kurogane said, and Fai turned and looked over at him. The blond grinned when Kurogane just glared.

"Aaah, you're right. I think Tomoyo here would have much better tastes." Fai laughed and straightened. "Well, if you two need anything, just call me over!" He flashed them both a toothy grin before turning and skipping back to the front counter, then over to another table as someone waved him over.

* * *

Kurogane stared after the blond, watching as he spoke to a group of students at a few of the larger tables. One of them spoke, Fai spoke back, and they all started to laugh.

"That's Fai," Tomoyo said, giggling as she looked over as well. "I know him through Sakura, you've met her. She works her between her classes, you see. What did she say it was…Ah, a work-study program, for a few extra credits." Tomoyo sipped at her drink. When Kurogane just shrugged, Tomoyo smiled over her cup. "If you take a picture, it'll last longer."

"Shut up," Kurogane growled, looking back at Tomoyo. He snatched up his coffee and took a sip. "Are you ready to go home, or aren't you?"

"Maybe after we finish these." Tomoyo set her cup down, looking out the window. "Did your first appointment go well?"

"I don't see why you can't just write it off and let me get the enhancements," Kurogane said, eyes narrowing. He eyes drifted back towards Fai again as the blond was jumping around and clapping, before snapping back at Tomoyo. If Fai wasn't completely and absolutely flamingly _gay_, Kurogane would eat his own shoes. Sure, he was cute, Kurogane was honest enough with himself to admit that, but the thought of putting up with that day after day unsettled Kurogane a bit. He was in some crap job, no one could be that happy. Could they? Kurogane shook his head.

"Well, the insurance won't cover it until Miss Ichihara confirms you haven't lost your mind." Tomoyo nodded, taking another sip of her drink. "You know, you shouldn't drink coffee this late."

"I'll do what I want," Kurogane said, stubbornly setting his jaw. As if to prove his point, the took a long drink from his cup, ignoring the fact that the heat scalded him just a bit. He set the cup back down and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms.

Tomoyo laughed at his childish action of near-sulking, and then stifled her giggles when Kurogane glared. Sure, Kurogane was grumpy, but he really was reliable. Kurogane, as a bodyguard on a day-to-day basis, was the easiest way to make sure Tomoyo was safe. She, after all, was the heiress to a large, powerful, and rich company. And while it had been years since there had been even the shiest attempt at kidnapping or anything like that, it was a case of rather safe than sorry. Besides, Kurogane was intimidating, tall and eternally-pissed looking as he was. Certainly there had been no threats since Kurogane had started guarding Tomoyo for most of the day.

Tomoyo, of course, had another few bodyguards working for the family that were always ready to be called in on Kurogane's (rarely taken) days off, (even rarer) sick days, or when he simply had appointments to attend, such as earlier that day. Even so, Kurogane was, perhaps oddly, the most dependable of the bunch. He was loyal, certainly, but half the time he was more like the older (or sometimes younger) brother Tomoyo had never had, being a single child.

She spoke about her classes as she finished off her drink, and Kurogane just gave the occasional nod or bored grunt. She laced her fingers together and rested her hands on the table when her cup was empty, smiling at Kurogane. "You know, Kurogane, we could get Fai's number for you, if you're going to keep getting distracted…" She trailed off, a teasing tone to her voice. If anything, teasing Kurogane was a great source of amusement - he embarrassed surprisingly easily, and wasn't a people person. Tomoyo suspected if he hadn't known her for so long, he'd be much shorter and ruder, but since he had, well. He put up with quite a bit from her. It was still fun, though.

Kurogane just twitched, narrowing his eyes. "Are you ready to go home?"

Tomoyo sighed. "I suppose so." She stood and lifted her bag, holding it out towards him.

"I'm not carrying your purse!" He scoffed

Tomoyo giggled as she lifted book bag (it really wasn't a purse, it was far too big. However, it was very pink, with a very stylish pattern to it) back over her shoulder, walking towards the exit. "That's why you don't have a girlfriend. Always unwilling to carry my book bag."

Kurogane growled as he opened the door for her, waiting until she was outside before following her and letting it swing back shut. "I don't need to worry about carrying _purses_."

Tomoyo giggled (because Kurogane's disregard for gender when it came to dating was well known to her) and looked up at Kurogane, watching as he certainly didn't look back at the café. Oh no, she was sure Kurogane would insist that he'd done no such thing.

* * *

It was entirely possible that, when Fai eventually closed the Cat's Eye an hour or so later, whistling along to the radio as he wiped down tables and put everything away, his thoughts drifted to the last two customers to come in.

First time customers always stuck out in Fai's mind, for some odd reason. The regulars did as well, of course, but the first time someone walked into the café, that was special. It was one of the moments he remembered. The next memory, of course, was the first time he learned their name, and then the first time he waved and greeted them, by name. Those two memories were supposing they returned on a regular basis, of course.

Fai laughed as he flicked off the last of the lights. That tall and handsome stranger had given him two of those memories already - his initial appearance, and his name. "Hmm hmm, Kurogane." He laughed as he paused outside the building, turning to lock the doors. He twirled his key chain around his finger as he walked.

It was a walk of a few blocks back to his apartment, but Fai was happy for it. The café, while nice and coffee scented, could get to be a little too stuffy as the day went on. The night air outside was cool from late spring, and the trees that lined the streets (perfectly manicured and surrounded by black grating in the sidewalks) were all green. A few had flowers on them, but not many. Fai didn't mind. The city was a colorful one, so a lack of flowers didn't leave him wanting.

Fai laughed at he stopped at a crosswalk, pressing the button to cross and waiting for the green light to come up on the other side. He consciously tried to not think of the taller man, focusing instead on what he would do for the next few hours until he calmed down enough to sleep. It was, after all, only 10 PM, an early night by most accounts. Certainly, Fai could afford it. Hell, he could have sold it or closed it down, and the inheritance from his family would have lasted awhile, if he was careful - but no, he didn't like that money. It was stained, and dirty from memories, and only for emergencies, or months when the café didn't quite make the profit he liked.

He tapped his foot, impatiently, trying to find a safe topic to think of. So then, thinking of social things was out of the question, as was business. What else was there? Ah. What would he do when he got home?

"Maybe I'll just cook something and watch a movie and then go to bed," he said aloud, to no one but himself. "Some popcorn sounds good I guess…but I don't feel like cooking anything bigger than that…"

When the light across the street indicated he could cross, he did, head bobbing to a tune that was all in his mind. There were people still out this late, and he smiled at seeing the various couples, despite himself. Not all of the people were couples, of course. There were larger groups of people, and single people, going about whatever late night chores drove them.

He walked slowly, sighing happily when he finally reached his apartment building a good few blocks away. He punched the code in on the pad in the entry way, digging around for his keys as he started up the long stairwell. Going up three levels wasn't hard at all - he was fairly used to it. He unlocked the door and looked up into his dark apartment. Despite himself, he smiled, looking in as he flicked on the light nearest the door. It was modest, really, somewhere between a-tad-too-small and comfortably-small, depending on his mood.

Tonight, it was just right.

It was an open space (and, blessedly, a bit soundproofed, or Fai never would have gotten any sleep. A great many deal of his neighbors on all side were single and very…energetic in their dating and their fights.). Really, there were only three rooms - bathroom, bedroom, and then everything else. The kitchen and dining 'space' (Fai refused to call the tiny little kitchen extension a dining room. Besides, he usually just ate on the couch anyway.) were only marked off by a change in flooring, from cool tile to slightly-less-cool wood floors. In the other part of the room, without even a wall to separate them all, was a loveseat and large 'chair and a half' with a blanket tossed over the back. Indeed, Fai fell asleep on the couch almost as often as actually in his bed. There was a television (of course, Fai's favorite distraction), and an impressive collection of DVDs, as well as a collection of CDs (though, most of his music was on his iPod, plugged into the iHome on the bookshelves, surrounded by the books he had).

The walls, however, were next to bare. There were only a few pictures on them; one of Fai on the grand opening of the Cat's Eye, a few of him and his regular workers (Sakura, Touya, Yukito, a boy named Watanuki and his 'not boyfriend' Doumeki) on the occasional outing that Fai surprised them all with. There were a few paintings of the store-bought, mass produced variety (which were sort of empty in meaning, but Fai liked them well enough) as well, but Fai had mostly gotten those when Sakura had come over once and mentioned how empty it looked. Fai had been quick to amend that. It had even been a bit fun, since he'd convinced Sakura to help him. After all, he'd said, something like that needed a woman's touch!

He dropped his messenger bag at the door and shrugged off his jacket, hanging it up and locking the door before walking to the kitchen, flicking on light switches as he went. In the end, the only thing that was remotely appealing was leftover Chinese food.

Fai ended his night curled up with a blanket, a movie, a few cartons of the food, and a fork (after all, he couldn't use chopsticks to save his life.), and that was just fine with him.


	3. Chapter 2 Bodyguard Not Boyfriend

_A/N: I am so sorry this took so long guys! And it's not even that long to make up for it…The next chapter (which is a Kuro session one) should hopefully be up next Monday or Tuesday! Also, I've lightened up how it reads, a ha ha ha. So hopefully it's better!_

_I feel as thought this chapter needs something, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what, and neither can my beta! Anyways…So, I guess, reader responses, then off to the chapter!_

_True Despair - I'm glad! I had fun writing lines, and I'm glad it made you laugh!_

_Feather Ice - Thank you very much! But as I said in the very first chapter, this is a pretty slow fic. It sort of trails along for a bit yet - I find myself writing slow stars more often than immediate hooks. For now, at least._

_1337kitsune- Cat's Eye is the name of the café in Outo country. Yuko gave them the idea for the name. Hee hee. Anyways, I do like to write AU fics more than ones in the series…I think it's because I look into series too much, ha ha ha. I have a hard time figuring out between what worlds to place anything as a canon-fic. It's kind of terrible._

* * *

The days came and went over the next few weeks, and the days on Kurogane's calendar were marked off, one by one, at a rate he couldn't argue with. Nothing happened, really. In fact, life was fairly boring, but at least the days went by at a reasonably quick rate. There was nothing worse that letting things drag on endlessly - it was pointless.

Still, while Kurogane didn't mind the days (at least he could usually go to bed and know what was coming, more or less) he wouldn't have minded a bit more excitement to his life, or at least something to mix things up. Simply put….he was a bit bored. But what was there to do?

Sure, Tomoyo was becoming a bit more independent, and sometimes she called to tell him to take the day off. On these days, Kurogane wasn't quite sure what to do, so they usually ended up with him doing his usual exercises at the gym and then sitting and playing video games. Sometimes he actually went shopping for something he needed on a list that accumulated over time on days he was working. Sometimes he actually decided to pick up his apartment and do some laundry in the ever-increasing pile in his basket. Okay, so he did manage to do both of those things on a regular basis ( his apartment wasn't _that_ dirty) but it was hard to really think of anything else to do.

Sometimes he would stare at his phone, look through the numbers. There was Tomoyo, of course, and a few friends from high school or college, but most of them were old ex-girlfriends or ex-boyfriends, a few were plain old booty calls. For the most part, Kurogane could have deleted every number in there, except for Tomoyo's, and been just fine with that. The thought of it made his mood sour. How empty.

Tomoyo, of all people, sometimes lectured him on his practices in dating, but Kurogane really didn't care. No one ever stuck around for longer than a few months, not with his job requiring the hours it did. People were damned selfish, really, so it usually ended up just turning into the occasional fake date, with both knowing it would just result in them heading back to an apartment for some make up or break up or just in general for-the-hell-of-it sex. And then they'd break up, and Kurogane would be left alone with his hand for a few months, and then it would all repeat again.

Kurogane shook his head when he thought about it, because he was just as damned selfish as anyone else in the world, he was just smart enough to know it, but he wasn't about to give up his job so someone could have more of his 'time.' Sure, he wanted more, was a little tired of the cycle of meet, date, break up two months later, but he was just fine with what he had. It was just that he couldn't admit it.

In the time between the first trip into the Cat's Eye and the end of the semester, they'd only had early-morning visits to the café on the way to Tomoyo's college classes. Kurogane had glanced around, but didn't see Fai again. Not that he'd been looking. No. Of course not. They did, of course, see Sakura, and she and Tomoyo spoke and giggled with each other until Kurogane pointed out for the seventh time that if they didn't get going Tomoyo would be late, and who would she blame?

And then, finally, the semester did end. Kurogane was happy to be freed from the college for the summer, and he wasn't even taking classes there. He hoped that Tomoyo would want to go to the beach or something a few times over the summer. At least the beach was fun.

"We'll celebrate by drinking something cold," Tomoyo declared the day after classes ended, when they stood outside the Cat's Eye café. She smiled up at Kurogane. "Your treat, of course."

Kurogane crossed his arms. Maybe it wasn't better that the semester was over. Maybe she would want to go to the beach, but she'd also probably want to go to the malls and stores more than once as well. It didn't irritate him as much as it should have, he supposed, but if he said that then Tomoyo would probably say that was the gay part of him showing.

As if.

"Looks like everyone else in the world has the same idea," Kurogane commented. The café was fairly full, people chatting and drinking at almost every table, hardly a person that wasn't alone. It was lively, and busy, but it seemed contained and calm despite the madness that Kurogane's first look-over delivered. A large group of people were getting ready to leave as they strolled in. The line was short.

"I want a lemonade," Tomoyo said, looking up at Kurogane. "I'll take a medium."

"You'll take what I get you," Kurogane countered, getting in line. Tomoyo laughed, skipping up the stairs in the corner to go to what Kurogane guessed was the second level. The line went slowly, but not too slowly, due to what seemed to be a large order at the head of the line that was ordering to go.

"Why hello there again, Kuro-kun!"

Kurogane lifted his head, realizing that not only was he in the front of the line, but that Fai was standing behind the counter. After a moment, he snapped when he realized just what Fai had called him. "What did you just call me?"

"Oh, Kurogane is so unfitting! Kuro is much better, but it's not quite right! How about Kuro-rin?" Fai grinned, leaning on the counter, towards Kurogane, into his space, and Kurogane liked his space. Unconsciously, Kurogane leaned away.

"That's even worse!" Kurogane snapped. Fai was far too familiar. Kurogane didn't like it.

"Oh? How about…Kuro-puu? No? Kuro-tan? Kurgie-burger? Oh! I know!" Fai clapped when all Kurogane did was glare. "Kuro-puppy!"

"Can I just order?" Kurogane demanded, tired of this game.

"Of course. What can I get you?" Fai was all smiles. He stood up straight.

"A medium lemonade and…" Kurogane looked over then menu, then shrugged. "Make that two." On a warm day like that one, the thought of something hot wasn't very appealing. He didn't need the 'pick me up' either, so...lemonade it was.

"Alright. For here, or to go?" Fai kept on smiling as he rang up the order. "You're here with miss Tomoyo again?"

"Yeah," Kurogane said paying for the drinks and taking his receipt, before gesturing at the stairs. "She went that way."

"If you want to go ahead and go to meet with her, I'll bring it to you when it's ready. Here's your change!" He counted it out into Kurogane's hand.

"Do you always smile?" Kurogane asked, mildly irritated.

"Oh, no, not all the time." Fai turned to start making the drinks, still smiling. "You can't really control what your face does when it's asleep after all, right?" He started humming along to the song on the radio, and Kurogane got the oddest feeling that he'd been dismissed, so he left the countertop as someone else stepped up to make their order.

After a few minutes of mind-numbing listening to Tomoyo talk on her cellphone with a classmate from the former semester, Kurogane was ready to stomp downstairs and get their drinks himself, but it was right about then that Fai showed up.

"Here we are!" He said, setting the drinks down. He smiled, looking over and turning his attention to Tomoyo as she clicked her cell phone shut. "And how are you, miss Tomoyo?"

"Very well, thank you." Tomoyo smiled. "How are you today Fai?"

"Oh, I'm quite well!" Fai smiled still, brightly. "Thank you for asking. How do you like the lemonade?"

Tomoyo took a sip (Kurogane had already started on his, and just grunted), and smiled. "As usual, it's perfect! You are a master of making drinks, Fai."

"You should see what I can do with alcohol." Fai winked, then glanced at Kurogane. "When you're twenty one, of course! Now, Tomoyo, if I may be so bold…Is Kuro-puro here really not your boyfriend?"

"That's right." Tomoyo laughed. "I can't even imagine that!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurogane narrowed his eyes, looking at them, but neither of them responded to him.

"Oh! It's as I thought, Tomoyo really does have better tastes than that. On the other hand, I don't." Fai winked, and Tomoyo laughed. "So then, you're friends? He doesn't seem like your usual friends, Tomoyo."

"Oh, no, he's my bodyguard." Tomoyo smiled, taking another drink from her lemonade. "He's very good at his job, if a bit over protective."

"I am not _over_protective," Kurogane cut in, narrowing his eyes as, again, neither seemed to notice him.

"Oh, he certainly does have that look to him." Fai laughed and, finally, looked over at Kurogane. "So then, Ku-ro-pu. If Tomoyo's not your girlfriend, then how is your girlfriend?" He smiled.

"Don't have one," Kurogane stated, taking a drink from his glass.

"Oh?" Fai smiled, moving a bit closer. "A boyfriend then?"

"Not at the moment." Kurogane shrugged.

"Oh I see!" Fai smiled and tapped his chin. "I wonder what could be wrong with you…"

Kurogane coughed on his drink, hitting his chest, to try to avoid choking, then looked up at Fai, glaring. "_Excuse me?_"

"Well…." Fai's smile turned a bit more mischievous. "You are a very attractive man, and let's see…" He reached out and rested a hand on Kurogane bicep, giving it a little squeeze. "Yep! You certainly have the strength thing down, I'd guess. So it must be all that snapping that you do!"

"I don't snap," Kurogane said, eyes narrowed.

"What do you call that then?" Tomoyo tilted her head. Kurogane growled as Tomoyo laughed.

"Still," Fai said, turning both of their attentions back to the café owner. "I think, perhaps, there must be more to Kurogane than meets the eye. Perhaps there's a soft and squishy person on the inside."

"Oh yes," Tomoyo said, smiling, before Kurogane could say anything. "Very soft."

"And squishy?" Fai laughed.

"Immensely. And quite lovable," Tomoyo insisted.

"Oh my!" Fai laughed, then winked at Kurogane. "I hope to see it someday, Kuro-puu!" He waved before going off, Kurogane grumbling under his breath.

"What?" Kurogane snapped, looking at Tomoyo when she giggled.

"He _likes_ you," Tomoyo said, smiling as she lifted her glass up. "But…"

"But what?" Kurogane narrowed his eyes. Tomoyo sounded so serious.

"But…If you do pursue Fai…you mustn't break up with him on bad terms." Tomoyo took a sip of her drink, then set the glass down. "I like it too much here!"

"If I pursue Fai, it'll be none of your business," Kurogane said, looking off with a bit of a huff. "And I'll do whatever the hell I want."

"Or whoever you want," Tomoyo said, teasingly.

"What was that?"

"Drink your lemonade."

Downstairs, Fai cleaned up the counter, looking over at the stairs with a sigh and a smile. It was just a game, a joke, really, like most of the things in his life. Sometimes these jokes resulted in a few dates, good times and memories, and, if Fai was lucky, a few rolls around in the hay.

After all, no matter what anyone said, a man couldn't live on only bread and water. There were a few _other_ things the body yearned for. Of course, on the other hand, Fai was well acquainted with his hands, and a few other things, but 'do it yourself' was for the kitchen and furniture, not the body.

He laughed as he moved back into the kitchen to check things. By the time he'd made his way back out, Kurogane and Tomoyo were leaving, so he waved. Tomoyo waved back - Kurogane only nodded. Fai counted it as a win.

"Fai? Are you okay?" Watanuki asked, heading towards the kitchen with a tray full of empty glasses to be washed.

"Hmmm, am I okay?" Fai smiled. "Today, I think, maybe I am."

Watanuki frowned. "You think?"

Fai laughed and waved a hand in the air. "I know I am. Watanuki, you're so sweet! Maybe I should steal you away from Domeki and keep you all to myself! How does that sound?"

"D-Domeki would - why should I care!" Watanuki snapped, storming into the kitchen.

Fai just laughed, spared a few more things on his personal problems, and then quickly got back to work. After all, the day wasn't over just yet.


	4. Chapter 3 Session 2 Work

_A/N: I was supposed to update this yesterday, but I was a bit busy moving things, as I'm sort of moving houses. Oh ho ho. I will attempt to start doing steady Monday updates on this, but I might do it every couple weeks and work on something else instead…This story is just a bit too slow and boring for me now, not near as exciting as I thought it would be, so it might go on the backburner to make room for something else, though I'm not sure. I may try to fit in some action, but, alas, it seems to be just a bit too slow. I'll muse over all of this until the next update and tell you guys what my final choice is then._

_Anyways, this is super short, because it's a session, and they always will be, though they may get progressive longer. They won't ever be as long, or as heavy, as full on chapters._

_Thanks to all my reviewers!_

_Kayo-hime - He is a bit squishy though, isn't he? A ha ha. He's kind of like a bug. Hard on the outside, but squishy on the inside._

_Stormgirl415 - I'm glad it was more reader friendly! I tend to enjoy heavier reading, so I sometimes forget that most people don't, a ha ha. And in the end, I only ended up using false limbs from I, Robot, so it isn't as close to the movie as I would have liked, though I may do one that's much closer in the future._

* * *

"Well Kurogane, how have you been the last couple weeks?"

"Fine." Kurogane grunted.

"Just fine, hm? I see." Yuko lounged back in her chair, smiling. She tapped her pen against the clipboard, looking over the information. Where to even start with this session? Certainly hearing what he had to say about himself had been interesting, and a good base, to work off of, but… "Tell me about your work."

"I'm a bodyguard." He shrugged.

"That's all?" Yuko smiled. "How do you like it?"

"It's easy."

"Aaaaah." Yuko wrote something down. "So you feel unchallenged?"

"I didn't say that." Kurogane narrowed his eyes.

"You didn't disagree just then, so it must be true." She smiled, victoriously. "So, you find it boring?" When Kurogane didn't answer, just crossed his arms and sat there, she twirled her pen in the air. "If you don't answer, I won't agree to your sanity." She smiled. It was _almost_ a threat, but not quite.

Kurogane hated this woman. He really, really did.

"Nothing ever happens." Kurogane said, simply. "It's a boring job. Just a preventative measure."

"Hmm." Yuko wrote down some other notes, then held up a hand when Kurogane started to speak. "I'm not going to tell you what I'm writing, so don't ask." She continued to write, then looked up. "Well, if you could have any job, what would it be?" She smiled when Kuroagne was quiet a long time.

Then, he shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'd own a dojo. Teach people."

"Hmm…" Yuko mused about hidden meanings behind the choice, then decided it was merely because it was what he knew. "And have you ever thought about doing that?"

"Why?" Kurogane crossed his arms again, leaning back in the chair. "I've got a cushy job."

"You'll have to move ahead eventually, Kurogane." Yuko smiled.

"What does this have to do with my replacements?" Kurogane growled, and Yuko just laughed.

"Why don't you tell me about the people you work for?"

"Tomoyo. She's nice enough, but sometimes she can be a real handful…."


	5. Chapter 4 Rainstorms and Phonecalls

_A/N: Well, in the end, this story will be my focus or now! However - I will be working on 'Becoming More Human', my drabble series related to 'Less Than Human' like I said I was going to make long ago but I haven't gotten around to yet, so hopefully that'll fulfill my action-y needs._

_My super duper reviewer for the last chapter was , so all you people that like seeing this still going can thank them. Seriously, that long review made me feel all warm and fuzzy and 'I can't let them down!' and what not._

_That said, the chapter itself, what to say…It's a bit lighter on reading than the others, I'll see if I can get the voice back next chapter. The next chapter may be delayed again though, as I'm really not sure what to do with it. Besides that, the chapter is kind of deceptively angsty and the beginning and end, but the middle is okay, and full of dramatic irony! That's the kind where you know something the characters don't. (I took a drama class in high school, so we had to learn stuff like that, ha ha ha.)_

_Kuro is super grumpy in this chapter, ha ha ha. Also, I hope it's clear, but if it isn't, there's a little bit of a time skip back, of a few minutes. You'll see what lead Kurogane and Tomoyo to say that. It'll make sense as you read, I'm sure!_

_Review replies~_

_- Thank you for the review, and all what you said! I'm not kidding when I say that, when I'm feeling a little down, I read reviews like yours and they really make me feel better. I'm really glad that someone feels that way about this fic, and I really hope you'll enjoy this chapter and the next ones._

_MissEars - Thank you very much! And as for Kuro admitting Fai is cute…hee, yeah. I think everyone has a point where they can know the most annoying, hateful person ever, and still think that said person's only redeeming quality is that they're cute or hot. Isn't that why girls date jerks that are good looking? A ha ha._

* * *

He hated life. No, correction. It was the act in general that he hated, for various reasons. But that was his little secret. No one knew. No one could guess, and if they could, if any of his employees looked at him with a bit of concern, he only ever smiled to reassure them or ignored the looks.

He didn't need their pity, he didn't _deserve_ it. If they knew all his secrets, there wouldn't be any. They'd only be looking at him with anger.

But those were his secrets. And he lived with them.

He would wake up early some mornings, and other mornings he would sleep in. Either way, he was always going to work within an hour of waking, even though he loved spending lazy hours in bed. It was just another thing he'd sacrificed.

Every day it was the same. Go to work, open if he was the first one there, hang up his coat, put on his apron, and then it was work, work, work. There were times in the days where he had fun. Well, really, the whole thing was a bit like a game.

Touya and Yukito were always fun to tease and flirt with - how many times had Fai swooned into Yukito's arms, and then teased Touya about keeping his eye on Yukito, or Fai would steal him away? How many times had Fai done the same, but the other way around? Yukito always seemed amused, and would play along, but Fai was never quite sure how Touya would react. The elder Kinimoto was playful to a point, but Fai had to apologize more than once for crossing the line.

Sakura was a whole 'nother story. The girl was shy, and easily embarrassed. Truth be told, Fai never really flirted with her. Even though it was harmless, and even though he loved the girl, he didn't love her like that. Besides, she did have Syaoran, and Fai wasn't sure if he'd ever seen a couple that was more head over heels and completely made for each other, even if they were shy about it. For that very same reason, he never really flirted with Syaoran either.

Domeki was eternally unphased by anything, and Watanuki was easily flustered, so out of them Watanuki was usually the target, but Fai only ever went so far. After all, he was sure that someday Domeki would make for the jealous type, even if it wasn't verbalized, and Fai didn't want to step in the path that they were surely taking.

This wasn't to say that Fai only flirted with them. Oh no. On occasion Fai would flirt with costumers, though rarely did anything become of it. It wasn't the best business, he was sure, but it was simply him. After a few visits people usually understood that.

"Oh! Look who it is!" He beamed when the door opened and Tomoyo and Kurogane walked in. "Forget an umbrella Kuro-rin? It's going to be stormy the rest of the day!"

"Again with the nicknames," Kurogane muttered, dripping wet.

"Kurogane was kind enough to lend me his coat," Tomoyo said, smiling, lowering Kurogane's coat off her head and onto her shoulders.

"So chivalrous!" Fai laughed. "You'll both be wanting something warm then, I imagine?"

"Please." Tomoyo smiled. "The usuals?"

"Coming right up. For here or to go?" Fai smiled, already reaching for the cups.

"Here," Kurogane grunted as he put the money down, and looked at Tomoyo. "At least let me dry off." Tomoyo just laughed.

"Then I'll bring it to you," Fai said, waving a hand, and then making a shooing motion at them. When they walked away, he kept on making the drinks. "Watanuki~," he sang, looking back into the kitchen. "Will you toss me a towel? There's a wet puppy out here that could use it!" There wasn't really a reply before a towel came flying out of the kitchen. Fai caught it and draped it over his shoulder before setting the drinks on a tray and going to where Kurogane and Tomoyo were sitting.

"Here we are!" He set their drinks down in front of them. "And for Kuro-dearie, super special treatment!" He left the tray on the table and moved behind Kurogane, taking the towel and starting to dry his hair.

Kurogane tensed. "What're you doing?"

"I'm drying you off, of course!" Fai smiled then bent down where Kurogane could see him and winked. "People who look like you get special treatments, right?"

"Stop it," Kurogane said, batting a hand at Fai's hands and the towel, trying to get it to stop. Kurogane was actually looking a bit red in the face, but Fai wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or anger. One never knew with dogs, after all.

"Nope!" Fai said, smiling. He caught Kurogane's hand, then giggled and covered his mouth. "Tomoyo, look, Kuro-puu and I are holding hands!"

"So you are," Tomoyo said over her coffee, laughing.

Kurogane jerked his hand back and turned around in his chair. The movement jostled the table a bit, almost spilling the coffee, but he didn't seem to notice. "Would you knock it off?" He growled, eyes narrowing.

Fai lifted his hands, smiling. Line crossed, it seemed. "Okay, okay." He laughed as he picked up the tray he'd brought their drinks on. "Enjoy your coffee!"

Fai _did_ leave the towel, just in case Kurogane decided that he did want to use it.

When a little group of people near Tomoyo and Kurogane left, Fai went to pick up the leftover dishes, and he overheard their talking.

"I just wish he'd get the damn hint," Kurogane said, taking a sip from his mug. "I'm clearly not interested."

"Maybe he just wants to try," Tomoyo said, shaking her head.

"Yeah, well, I don't," Kurogane growled. "And I wish he'd take the hint and knock it off."

Fai paused, then placed the mug he was holding in the little tray they all used to bring things into the kitchen.

"Fai?" Watanuki asked, looking up from pulling a loaf of bread from the kitchen. "Are you okay?"

Fai blinked, then looked at himself in the reflection of himself in the microwave door. It was all upon his face, wasn't it? He laughed, putting on his mask. "Oh yes! I just overheard someone talking. I'm heartbroken! I suppose I'll just have to rebound! Domeki~ I'm going to go ahead and steal Watanuki away from you!" He sang the last part, one hand cupping around his mouth.

"Ack!" went Watanuki, cheeks flushing a bit.

"Hm?" went Domeki, looking into the kitchen from the front counter.

* * *

When Fai left, and left the towel, Kurogane begrudgingly lifted a hand to dry his hair and the back of his neck with it, looking none too happy.

"Kurogane, you didn't have to snap at him," Tomoyo said, holding her mug, letting the drink warm her chilly fingers. "It was just some flirting."

"I- Damn it." Kurogane said, looking down at his pocket when his cell phone rang. "Give me a minute," he said, pulling it out and glancing at the screen. He pressed a button to reject the call before setting it back down.

"What was all that about?" Tomoyo asked, frowning.

"Some guy that won't get the hint, that's all. Don't worry about it."

"You seem to have an awful lot of those." Tomoyo frowned.

"I have a healthy sex life." Kurogane shrugged.

"Don't you ever get tired of it?" Tomoyo took a sip from her mug, then sighed. "What good coffee…"

"Yeah, it's not bad." Kurogane looked down at his own mug, then shrugged again. "Of course I get tired of it. Not the sex, but people who can't tell the difference between just sex and a relationship. It's damn immature and at this age people should have figured it out. Relationships," he explained with a gesture in the air, "are way more trouble than they're worth. I feel sorry for you, anyways."

"Why me?" Tomoyo tilted her head.

"You've got money, so there's probably a lot of people that will be after you for just that." He was quiet for a bit, then shook his head. "Eh. You'll make a good choice. I'm sure. And if I don't approve, I'll kick his ass."

Tomoyo laughed. "Will you?"

"Yeah. That's my job anyway, right?" He took another, long drink from his coffee. "Protecting you?"

Tomoyo smiled. "Well, maybe you need a bodyguard too, Kurogane. It seems you need some protecting too."

Kurogane stared at her, breaking his gaze only to glance at the next table over when he saw movement and started to speak when his cell phone went off again. "Damn it," he muttered, reaching back into his pocket for it. He glanced at the caller ID and then flipped it open. "I told you, I'm _not interested_," he said, and flipped it back shut. "I just wish he'd get the damn hint," Kurogane said, taking a moody sip from his mug. "I'm clearly not interested."

After a long silence, Tomoyo spoke, shaking her head. "Maybe he just wants to try."

"Yeah, well, I don't," Kurogane growled. "And I wish he'd take the hint and knock it off."

* * *

When ten'o'clock rolled around, Fai looked around. "Well, it's Wednesday, and no one's come in for the last half hour, so I'm calling it," he announced, looking over at Watanuki and Domeki. "You two finish up your mugs and then shut it down, okay?"

"Okay," Watanuki said, taking another drink from his still mostly full mug. After all, Fai was pretty lenient with his workers getting 'pick me ups' during the workday when it was slow, and especially at night when what was left over Fai didn't like selling.

Fai gathered his things up, whistling, and stopping when he was at the door. "And Domeki."

Domeki looked back at Fai, eating something loudly.

"Next time you want to spend some time with Watanuki, you should take him to the movies or something! Now, that's a real date!" Fai laughed when Watanuki turned red and insisted for the hundredth time that Domeki wasn't his boyfriend and Domeki just nodded at Fai. He closed the door behind him, laughing again when Watanuki was against the glass of the front of the building, waving his hands at Fai, calling through the glass.

"I can't hear you Watanuki," Fai said, cheerfully. "What's that? Oh, yes, I totally approve! Domeki's a good man!"

"I didn't ask for your approval!" Watanuki said. Domeki just gave a thumbs-up in the background, munching on a cookie.

Fai hurried down the street, laughing, before Watanuki could come charging out after him. He wouldn't have put it past the kid, really. He was a good worker, a good person, but he was such a spazz sometimes. It made things interesting, at least.

And so, as Fai walked, he let his mind drift. He'd have to order some more things for the shop tomorrow. Maybe it was in for a new paint job, too. A new sign, maybe - the current one was getting a little faded with age.

"Maybe I'll buy some paint...or I guess I could just send out for it. But making it is more meaningful, isn't it? Hmmmm….Oh!" He stopped when he almost by his apartment building, and laughed. "Lost in thought. It's amazing that I can even run a business." He hopped up the steps and entered the building, taking his mail from the mailbox. Bill. Bill. Insurance claim. Bill. Bill. Insurance payment for the café.

They all just ended up dumped on the table when he got home.

Fai's smiled twitched, faltering a bit as he looked around. It was empty. It wasn't a large space by any means, but today it seemed all too big. He dropped his bag, thinking back to the café. Who was opening tomorrow? Touya and Domeki. For a moment Fai wondered what would drive him to pair those two together, or why he'd put Domeki for two shifts in a row, before remembering that Domeki hadn't really been working at the end of the day. He'd just showed up and been bullied into helping out by Watanuki. He'd probably come to eat some of Watnauki's lunch - Fai couldn't blame him. Watanuki made the best lunches, but they always seemed even more special on the days that he was scheduled to work with Domeki.

'Not boyfriends.' Fai smiled, but it didn't last long as he sighed and dropped his bag on the floor and mail on the table. He picked up the phone and dialed a number he knew well as he pulled out a frozen bag out of the freezer. He held the phone between his head and shoulder as he emptied the bag into a skillet and added some water, turning the skillet on and setting the sauce packet aside.

"Hello?" Answered a female voice on the other side of the line.

"Hello Yuko," Fai said, smiling. "How have you been?"

"Oh, well enough," Yuko said. "How are you? Is my nephew working well?"

"Oh yes, Watanuki is quite the worker." Fai laughed. "I'm doing well enough-"

"Except that you can't be, if you're calling me."

"Hyuuuuu," Fai said, stirring the things in the skillet before covering it. "You don't even have to see my face to read me! You're quite impressive, Yuko."

"Contrary to what you may believe," Yuko said, and Fai could practically hear her smiling, "you aren't so hard to read. Well, not to people know you just a bit. I assume you're feeling down?"

"For the past couple weeks," Fai admitted. He pulled out a small bowl, filling it with water from the tap and setting the frozen sauce packet inside.

"Maybe we should see about putting you on your medication again." When Fai made a noise, Yuko laughed. "I know. Well, let's get you in to see me. Let's see…" There was the sound of pages flipping before Yuko spoke again. "It looks like I'm booked fairly solid for the next few weeks, but I may feel like some coffee next week."

"Is that so? Well, I just happen to know a great little café," Fai said, smiling a little despite himself.

"Well, isn't that convenient? Well then, I'll meet you there sometime next week, if you're comfortable with me being there."

"Of course! Watanuki might be another story, though."

"Oh, if he's not there, fine, but if he is, I'll just embarrass him thoroughly. That's an aunt's job, after all." Yuko chuckled, and then her voice was soft. "If you need to talk before them, you're always welcome to call me, Fai."

"Will do."

"And eat some chocolate or something between now and then."

The line didn't end until Yuko had heard Fai laughing.


	6. Chapter 5 More Phonecalls and Lemonade

_A/N: Fiiinally! Sorry for the wait everyone! By the time I almost got the chapter done, I got a virus, and had to wait. Hopefully this (and the writer's block that prevented me from finishing the chapter) won't happen again!_

_That said…I'm not really sure I like the flow of this chapter, but you all have been waiting so long and I'm not all sure how to fix it! The next one will be one of Kurogane's sessions with Yuko, so it should be done quickly and without too much trouble. Past that, I have my outline of the chapters, so I won't run into the 'what do I do for this chapter?' thing, ha ha ha. There's a slight 'scene' separator inside the chapter, which I indicated with a '~~', so that's what that is.  
_

_Reader replies!_

_TrueDespair- thank you very much! And yes, Fai is a real sweetie, isn't he? Ha ha. And yes, Fai misunderstood. Looking back, it's a big egotistical of him to think that Kuro was talking about him, but you really can't blame him, can you? And as for Yuko being Watanuki's aunt, it just seemed fitting, ha ha ha._

_EarthDragonAlchemist- Thank you very much! For the title, did it really? Ha ha! It's kind of funny that you say that, since it's been revealed that Fai sees Yuko (thought you all don't know why yet, and it'll be awhile until it's revealed just why.)._

_Stormgirl415- Thank you! I'm hoping that the story has potential too, a sit goes along, ha ha ._

_LightDarkandChaos - I haven't read X/1999, but, unfortunately, I haven't read it (or seen it if there's an anime as well), and I feel weird putting characters in that I'm unfamiliar with._

_Nevvy- Thanks to your request, I could actually find a jumping part for this story! I hope this chapter is a little bit helping, though it's a bit vague. And also, it does answer the skin question!_

_- For the words in immediate succession, aaaah, I guess that's the public school system at work. I'll try not to do that in the future! As for the moment with Kurogane and the repeated of lines, I think I wrote a note about that at the beginning of the last chapter, just because it made sense of me as I was writing it, but not as I was reading, so I was hoping to clear up confusion. I'll try to be more clear about things like that in the future! For Fai…Yeah, I think a lot of people completely just write Fai and Kuro into stereotypes, making Fai all weepy and Uke-ish, and Kurogane as the unemotional tough guy type, or they make Fai terribly depressed and then all the sudden happy when Kurogane bangs him or something. It's a bit sad when it's taken to those extremes._

_Laon Kame- Thank you very much! I feel like titles (and as expansion, summaries) are very important in stories, as well as keeping the characterization spot on, so I'm happy to hear you say that! I'm glad to her you like my style (and yay! Another Nathanial Hawthorne lover! I love you!)! I think that I tend to focus on inner monologues and the character's relationships more than the plot, sometimes, though both are important. (I think this is the reason that a lot of, as you put it, 'classic yaoi' is kind of terrible. People either focus on just the plot, getting the characters together even if it makes no sense, and the 'of course it'll be there this is a yaoi fic' graphic lemon-y sex that they lose a lot on the way. Also, it's kind of sad that almost every yaoi/shounen-ai story is expected to have super lemons in it.)_

* * *

"Your parts run so smoothly, I often forget that your arm is fake." Tomoyo smiled as she walked along Kurogane.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and bright, and the breeze was just light enough to take the edge of the heat beating down from above. Children, teenagers, and young adults out of school lined the streets in small groups, window shopping or passing from one destination to another. All in all, it was a perfect day to be out and about. So what was Kurogane doing? He certainly wasn't enjoying himself, that was for sure.

"You know," Kurogane said as they walked into the Bio-tech office, "you didn't have to come with me. It can get pretty weird." He looked down at his arm, flexing it. It had been sticking lately, and the reaction was slower. Probably just some dirt in the gears, but better safe than sorry. Besides, the insurance from the bodyguard gig was pretty sweet. Why not take advantage of it?

"I've never seen the inner workings of one," Tomoyo said, smiling as Kurogane walked to the front desk and signed in. She tilted her head, watching his arms as he wrote. "You really can barely tell the different. I remember seeing tapes of the older models. They were much more noticeable."

"The Gin Ryuu model is one of the best." Kurogane handed the clipboard back to the woman sitting behind the counter; she waved at them to sit and wait, impatiently. Kurogane flexed his arm, resting a hand on the false bicep, looking a bit prideful of his choice of enhancements. "Hurts like a bitch putting it on, since they have connect nerve endings, but completely worth it." He sat back in a chair, slouching. "Worth the money several times over."

Tomoyo laughed, sitting down properly and crossing her ankles as she looked through the magazines. "Well, that's good." She looked down at the floor. "But Kurogane, why do you want to replace so many limbs? I mean, it's not an issue of money. My parents take my safety very seriously, but to do so much…"

"They're stronger." He shrugged. "That simple."

"It just seems like a waste." Tomoyo looked at him. "Is strength really that important?"

"You're the one I'm protecting. You tell me." He waved a hand in the air and, though Tomoyo could have said many things, she chose not to. He held the hand up, his mechanical one, staring at it as he moved the false fingers around.

Anytime she asked why he wanted to replace his limbs, or how he'd gotten his first fake arm, he'd never answered, just avoided the question or, in one instance, actually yelled and walked off, efficiently (if not gracefully) ending the conversation. He'd gotten in trouble that last time though.. Even so, Tomoyo had stopped asking around then. Even if he didn't stomp off (a bit like a child, really), he often went into a bad mood for hours if not days. Probably his version of the silent treatment.

Normal Kurogane was bad enough, really. A moody one was even worse. Tomoyo giggled and Kurogane looked over at her, raising an eyebrow.

"It's nothing," Tomoyo said, smiling. Before Kurogane could answer, the nurse called his name. They followed her to the exam room.

"My employer," Kurogane said with a shrug, when the nurse looked pointedly at Tomoyo.

"Miss," the nurse said, nodding, before closing the door.

"It's a nice room," Tomoyo commented. Sure it was. Pale walls, ceiling, it was certainly a doctor's office, though some of the instruments were a bit vicious looking. For the mechanical parts, Tomoyo guessed, sitting down in the chair in the corner.

Kurogane just shrugged, sitting back on the medical bed. They sat in silence, and suddenly Kurogane leaned forward. "I feel like coffee."

"On a day like today?" Tomoyo stared at him, then smiled. "Well, the Cat's Eye isn't too far from here. Only a couple of blocks."

"Really? Didn't know." Kurogane shrugged, and Tomoyo thinned her lips to avoid smiling again. Of course Kurogane had known - he knew this part of the city like the back of his hand, simply because it was near the college. She wondered if he had another reason to go, then covered her mouth as, that time, she did smile.

The doctor entered, speaking with a casual warmth as he took Kurogane's hand and turned it palm up. He didn't ask for permission, just did it. "Good evening mister Suwa. How are we feeling today?" His touch was firm, would probably have hurt if the arm had been flesh and bone, as he began to poke and prod.

"Just a quick check up," Kurogane said, shrugging his non-mechanical shoulder as to not disturb the doctor. "It's been sticking." He gestured at Tomoyo. "My boss, don't mind her."

The doctor nodded at Tomoyo. "Miss. Now let's see. Range of motion…Does seem a bit sticky." The doctor moved Kurogane's wrist, his elbow, even his shoulder. "Maybe something got in. Well, no problem. Let's see." The doctor went over to a small cupboard and pulled out a small bottle, cotton balls, and picked up a few of the scary looking tools.

Kurogane didn't seem to mind when the doctor sliced into the false skin, but it made Tomoyo a bit uneasy. Of course it was a fake arm, she knew that. It had no sensation (though, as she'd read, some of the new models were beginning to come out with sensation, but they were expensive and the feeling was numbed compared to real, living tissue), but there was just something eerie about seeing it.

"A ha, there's just a bit of a wire caught, and it's 'bleeding'," the doctor said eventually. "We won't need the solvent. Give me just a few moments." One of the scary looking tools dug around in the arm. Kurogane's hand twitched now and then as he worked.

"Bleeding?" Tomoyo asked.

"Just a bit of slang, you'll have to forgive me." The doctor continued to work, and Kurogane looked increasingly annoyed when his hand twitched a few more times. "The false joints need a bit of lubrication, just like the human body, but sometimes they leak a bit." The doctor removed the tools. "Try that."

Kurogane lifted his arm. He fisted his hand, moved it through the air, raised his arm over his head. "Smooth."

"Alright." The doctor put the tools away. "Touch each of your fingers to your thumb….Good, good. No sticking?"

"None."

"Good, good." The doctor washed his hands, shaking them off in the sink. "If it starts sticking within a few weeks, you may need to go in and get it replaced. It's a fairly easy fix, but it requires a bio-tech surgeon and a quick operation. If it's fine, then you're good to go." He picked up the clipboard with Kurogane's file, looking over it. "Though, I'd advise going to get a tune up. It's been awhile since your last one."

"Yeah yeah." Kurogane rolled his eyes and looked at the long slice down his arm.

"Is there anything else?" The doctor looked between them.

"Nope, you're all free doc." Kurogane stood, digging around in his pockets. The doctor nodded and left them.

"What is that?" Tomoyo asked, standing, when Kurogane pulled a small spray can out of his pocket. It hardly looked bigger than a little container of breath spray, really.

"Resealer. You know. So I don't look like Frankenstein or something." Kurogane lifted his arm, spraying it down the cut. It seemed to vanish right before their eyes, the cut sealing and the spray blending in with the fake skin, and Kurogane blew on it before replacing the can in his pocket. "So. Coffee?"

"Lemonade," Tomoyo corrected, smiling. Kurogane wrote a check at the front desk before they left. More then once Kurogane had to pull Tomoyo aside, and glared after people that skateboarded or ran past.

"Kids," Kurogane muttered, grumpily. "They have no respect."

"Oh Kurogane, you're not that old," Tomoyo said, laughing. Kurogane just glared at that and gone into one of his moods. As to be expected, he stayed silent the rest of the walk, hands pocketed and eyes narrowed up ahead. Tomoyo found it a bit amusing that he was touchy about his age, even though he was only in his twenties. It was hard to tell if he looked older or younger than his age. Kurogane seemed to hardly age, and Tomoyo could hardly tell if he looked much different than when he'd begun to guard her several years ago. Lucky genes, she supposed, smiling.

"We're here," he said, finally, when they rounded the corner and there was the Cat's Eye. Kurogane glanced inside as they walked along the windows. "I think this is the least busy I've seen it."

"It's a nice day," Tomoyo said, stepping in when Kurogane opened the door for her. "So everyone is probably out enjoying it. Should we get our drinks to go?"

Kurogane just shrugged.

"Welcome to the Cat's Eye!" Sakura said, when they'd gotten to the counter. "Oh!" She laughed. "Hello Tomoyo! Hello Kurogane! What can I get you?"

"Two lemonades," Tomoyo said, smiling and holding up two fingers. "To go, please."

"Right away!" Sakura smiled, moving back to make the drinks, only to turn back around when Kurogane spoke.

Kurogane had been looking around, listening, trying to figure out just what was wrong with the café. There was something not right. Almost gloomy. Something was wrong. Something was missing. Or, maybe, rather, it was someone. There was no one leading people in songs to the radio, or complimenting people on their outfits, or making casual conversation with the lonely-looking person in the corner as they waited for their friends or a date.

There was no Fai. Had he gotten so used to the presence of the other man being inside the café? He hadn't even known him that long, but he recognized that him not being there meant something for the café, for it's people. It meant something bad, almost . It seemed a bit gloomier in there.

"Where's Fai?" Kurogane asked, looking around again before focusing on Sakura.

"I'm afraid that he called in sick today." Sakura smiled, and lowered her voice. "But I think he's having one of his bad days."

"Is that so?" Tomoyo tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"It's wrong here," Kurogane growled, pulling out his cell phone. "What's his number?" When Sakura just stared at him, Kurogane put a bit more force in his voice. "What's his number?" She stammered out his number, and Kurogane dialed, holding it up to his ear and going outside.

"Wh-what's he going to do?" Sakura asked, nervously.

Tomoyo laughed. "I think he'll either make Fai feel better, or try to make him feel guilty."

Outside, Kurogane just pocketed a hand, the other holding the cell phone to his ear as he listened to the ring tone. He looked around, watched people as they walked. Cars passed, honked. The people passing talked, chatted, creating the background of the usual dull roar of the city. He tapped his foot impatient, until someone on the other end of the call picked up.

"Hello?"

"Idiot!" Kurogane yelled. "You better be sick!"

There was silence, and then a laugh. Fai cleared his throat before speaking. "Kuro-puppy! How did you get my cell phone number?"

"You don't sound sick," Kurogane said, narrowing his eyes as he stared down at the sidewalk, leaning against the building. A few people had turned to look at him when he'd yelled. No use in bringing attention to himself.

"Oh. I'm very sick. Cough cough. Hack hack." Fai laughed again. "Is that convincing?"

"No." Kurogane rolled his eyes, then shook his head. Damn it. This conversation was too easy. "I don't care why you're really home. But unless it's life-or-death, you better get your ass to work."

"Oh? And why is that?"

Kurogane thought fast. "You add extra sugar into your lemonade so that it's sweeter." Okay, so maybe it wasn't the best excuse.

"And Kuro-rin likes things sweet, does he?" Fai smiled.

"It's for Tomoyo. Get your ass down here, or I'll get you address and come hunt you down myself." He clicked the phone shut and went back inside. "Don't bother making the drinks, he's on his way," he said to Sakura, but Sakura looked skeptical

In his apartment, Fai stared at his phone, smiling despite himself. "So, Kuro-puppy does like sweet things." He laughed as he stood off the couch. "I guess he really doesn't like me then. I'm much more bitter."

He put his cell phone down and turned off the TV, walking to his bedroom to change. He wasn't sure what drove him to even leave his house in his current state, emotionally a wreck, but something did. Perhaps it was just the little crush he was still harboring on the other man. Such things came and went easily, of course, and everyone needed a few nonsensical, empty, nothing-will-come-of-them crushes, even if the target of the crush verbally stated that he'd has no interest. It was freeing, really, to have something to laugh and giggle over. There were precious few things that Fai could truly laugh about, and he knew that, so anything he could figuratively get his hands on was very dear and precious.

He laughed as he picked up his cell phone, wallet, and house keys, tucking them in his jacket pocket as he pulled it on. He locked the door behind him and headed out.

"Someone's in a good mood," one of the tenants coming inside said, a young woman, smiling at Fai.

"Going to see a tall dark and handsome not-stranger," Fai replied, smiling. The woman laughed when Fai winked. Maybe there was a bit of a skip to his step, despite himself. He just couldn't help it! There was something easy about annoying the ninja (and oh, would he annoy the ninja when he got to the café - it would be payback for pulling him away from home on a day like today) that gave him a bit of fun.

Fai stopped when he could just barely see the café down the street. He was suddenly hesitant. It wasn't too late to turn back, was it? He reached for his cell phone, then stopped, closed his eyes, and smiled. It wasn't fair. Even though Kurogane wasn't interested, it just wasn't fair that somehow he could still pull Fai out of his own apartment on one of those days when his medication just didn't cut it.

"Damn him," Fai said, putting on his smiling mask as he started walking again. He opened the doors loudly, making a rather grand entrance for himself, and immediately skipped over to Kurogane (who was just standing around and facing the counter) and tossing his arms around the taller man's neck. "Kuro-puppy's missing me made me strong enough to face the world!"

Kurogane jabbed back with his elbow, trying to hit Fai and missing. "Get off of me!"

"Are you feeling better, Fai?" Sakura asked, smiling. Tomoyo didn't ask, but the same question was on her lips. They two girls watched as Kurogane tried, and failed, to get Fai off his back.

Fai finally leaned back, removing himself from Kurogane's back and neck. "Much better! It must have been a few quick bug. Now then!" He reached over to Kurogane, sticking his hand right into the taller man's pockets. The reaction, of course, was obvious.

Kurogane grabbed Fai's wrist and yanked his hands away. "The hell do you think you're doing?"

"Well, I thought it was only fair that Kuro-rinrin gets my number from myself!" Fai laughed. "I can program it into the phone, and then I can program Kuro-puppy's number into my own phone!"

"Then ask! Don't go digging around in other people's pockets!" Kurogane pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and shoved it, almost rudely, at Fai. A split second after Fai took it Kurogane realized that it wasn't really the best idea and grabbed for it. "Give me my phone back!"

"You gave it to me," Fai pointed out, somehow managing to be just out of reach every time Kurogane grabbed for him, despite the fact that he was focusing on the phone, typing in numbers. "There we go!" He held Kurogane's phone back out to him, laughing.

Kurogane snapped it out of his hand, opening it to his phonebook. "Idiot," he muttered, finger hovering over the delete button. After a moment he pulled his hand away, tucking his phone back in his pocket. "Idiot," he repeated. "I'm keeping your number in case you do something stupid again."

"Oh?" Fai grinned, then laughed. "Well, I'll go make you your lemonade then!" He waved before heading into the kitchen. The volume of the music inside rose dramatically, and the three at the counter got the occasional glimpse of Fai waving his hands in the air to the beat.

"Th-that's amazing!" Sakura said, after a few moments, looking into the kitchen, and then back at them. She looked surprised, purely and simply, as if she couldn't quite believe what she saw.

"I don't know, it looks like a pretty awful dance to me," Kurogane muttered, with a roll of his eyes.

"No, not that…" Sakura looked back at Tomoyo, then back to Kurogane, smiling. "You got him to come here, on a bad day. We can never get him to do that. It's really impressive…" She lowered her eyes. "Thank you, mister Kurogane."

"..You're welcome?" Kurogane tried, not all quite sure what to say. How did one to respond to that? It wasn't even that often that he was thanked. And besides, how hard was it to call someone up and tell them to get their ass out of their house? How many times had his father woken him up that way, when he'd been still alive? Thankfully he didn't have to think about it too long. Fai showed up, holding up two travel cups, presumably filled with lemonade.

"Here we are!" Fai said, holding them out. "Specially made for Kuro-puppy and Tomoyo!" He handed them over, then bent down by Tomoyo, grinning as he stage whispered to her. "I put extra sugar in Kurogane's!" Kurogane glared openly at them, but Fai seemed to ignore him. "After all, Kurogane seems to like sweet things, doesn't he?" The blond grinned and straightened. "What were you two up to today anyway?"

Kurogane was drinking his lemonade, going into one of his unexplainable moods, so Tomoyo answered, smiling up at Fai. "Kurogane went to the bio-tech doctor for his arm."

"Bio-tech?" Fai looked at Kurogane. "Then Kurogane has a fake limb? An accident? Or is Kurogane one of those people that likes to take their body all apart until they're all mechanical?" He smiled, and Kurogane glared.

That smile was immensely fake, and almost judgmental. Kurogane didn't like it. "It's an arm. The rest really isn't your business." He looked at Tomoyo. "Tomoyo, let's get going. We can go get you some clothes or makeup or whatever the hell girls buy."

"Well, I could use some new fabric," Tomoyo said, thoughtfully, but Kurogane was already heading toward the door. Tomoyo looked back at Sakura and Fai. "Sorry about him. I'm afraid he's been in a fairly sour mood since after the appointment. It's just how Kurogane is, I suppose."

"Don't apologize for him," Fai said, smiling and patting Tomoyo's hand. "You know, Sakura gets off early today. Why don't you two go have a girl's night out when you're done making Kurogane buy you things?"

Tomoyo laughed, looking at Sakura. "No plans with Syaoran?"

"He's on a dig," Sakura said, smiling a bit sadly. "He won't be back for a few weeks." She seems to brighten, folding her hands behind her back. "How about I call you when I get off work? Oh! You could come over! Touya won't be home tonight, so we could do something there!"

While the two girls made their plans, and Kurogane waited by the door impatiently, Fai snuck his way back into the kitchen. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, looking at Kurogane's name in the 'phonebook' part of it before going on down the list. He selected one and pressed the call button, pressing it to his ear.

"Hello? Fai?"

"This'll only take a moment, Yuko," Fai said, smiling into the phone. "I just wanted to tell you that it looks like today isn't as bad as I thought."

There was a pause before Yuko spoke again. "Is that so?"

"It very much is." Fai smiled. "I'll see you soon, Yuko." He kept on smiling long after the phone call was done.


	7. Chapter 6 Session 3 Family

_A/n: I am…so sorry everyone. Long story short, life caught up with me, and my writing juices dimmed, and then video games grabbed me, and now World of Warcraft has started Cataclysm, and I'm hunting for jobs…But I will try to resume updates of this fic on Mondays again, starting next week (as in the 6th!). As an apology, I'll post the next chapter tomorrow, and let me tell you, it's a good one!_

_Very late responses-_

_TrueDespair- The bio-Tech does have a bit of an automail flair to it. If you look up the research on prosthetic arms and hands these days, it really is interesting how far they've come. Not as advanced as anything here, or automail, of course, but still impressive._

_LightDarkandChaos- I'll have to keep an eye out for it! And unfortunately, a great many of questions on Fai won't be answered until late in the fic, a ha ha._

_Alguien22792 - I keep meaning to do a fic with Fai angst, it's just hard to keep Fai angst-y enough while not going totally overboard like most people do, a ha ha._

_Walkthedead - on the stereotype thing, yes! I am full supporter or ruining stereotypes, ad I'm glad that people seem to be enjoying it, ha ha._

_Jiaqianyin - Yuko would probably be a terrible psychiatrist, but you can't deny that she would probably make quick work of someone, ha ha._

_Inasa - Thank you very much! Kurogane wanting to be stronger always is an important theme to his character, I think, and I try to leave it intact in all the fics I write or think about. And I'm glad that the characterization is good. Keeping the characters true to themselves is important to me, a ha._

* * *

Near the end of the next session, Yuko dropped a figurative bomb on Kurogane. "I'd like to discuss something that you might not want to talk about." Yuko said, tapping her pen on her clipboard. "According to your personal history, your parents died when you were fourteen, is that correct?"

Kurogane stilled in his chair. After a moment he leaned back and crossed his arms, looking off. Yuko examined the body language, and smiled. He'd cut himself off from her, from the idea, from the memories. He was blocking it out, refusing to face it in that setting. She understood, but she still had to at least attempt to pursue the topic.

"Kurogane," she said, lowering her voice a bit. "We will have to discuss this eventually, at least briefly. It's now or later." She paused, then smiled. "We don't need to talk about it itself. Only about how things…changed for you. At home."

"I took care of myself. That's it."

Yuko pursed her lips, thoughtfully, then smiled. "I see. Remember, Kurogane, we will address this issue eventually, if I think it's impacting your decision. But if you're too scared to face it-"

"I am not scared!" Kurogane snapped, eyes narrowed. "Just because I don't want to talk about it doesn't mean I'm scared of it!"

"Because it hurts?" Yuko asked, not intimidated by his outburst

"…Because it hurts," Kurogane admitted quietly, after a long silence.

"That's enough, then, for the moment." Yuko looked over her notes. "How much time do you spend at home?"

"Not much," Kurogane said, thankful to get off the topic. "I'm usually protecting Tomoyo. Sometimes I crash on the couch at her house when it's late."

"You care about her?" Yuko noted this on her paper. "Besides just as your employer?"

"She's like a sister. Nothing sick like you're thinking." Kurogane shrugged. "Makes the job easy, I guess."

"Do you protect her because you couldn't protect your parents?"

"We're done." Kurogane said, standing. "If you're going to keep talking about this, this appointment is over."

"Fine. Sit back down." Yuko said, pointing at the chair with her pen. "So then, tell me about your relationship with Tomoyo. She's like a sister, you say?"

Kurogane didn't move for a few minutes, then finally sat, arms crossed again. "Yeah."

"Relationships are important things," Yuko said, carefully. She looked at the wall beyond Kurogane, then smiled. "But…let's save that conversation for our next meeting."


	8. Chapter 7 The Bribe

_A/N: And here we are! Enjoy the magic of the chapter! I had lots of fun writing it, and I think this is one of my favorite chapters. Not much to say, so let along to reading!_

_Fic should be updated on Monday, the 6th, but if it's not finished then I'll try to get it up on the 8th instead!_

* * *

Having the day to himself was an odd, odd thing. Tomoyo had called early and given him the day off, said she'd planned to stay home all day. She'd call him again if she did needed him, she'd also said, but he wasn't exactly holding his breath.

Kurogane had already spent a few hours stuffing dirty laundry into his washing machine and dryer. The clothing had come out clean, of course, and then ended up stuffed back into his dresser, sure to get wrinkled. He didn't care, they were just clothes. His few formal clothes, some dress suits and dress slacks were all hung up properly, but the rest of the stuff could be as wrinkled as they wanted. It didn't matter to him. It was all just the outward appearance, shallow, and it wasn't as if anyone would mistake him for lazy. Certainly not if they saw his arms, muscled and defined as they were.

He'd beaten up the punching bag hanging in the corner of his apartment until it had gotten boring, played a few levels on some video games, and stared into his mostly empty refrigerator for a long while before grabbing his coat and heading out. He paused as he locked the door to his apartment, staring at it.

What was he doing? Where did he expect to go? He didn't really need to go shopping, had no one to see. His life suddenly felt a bit empty, but he shook it off. It was how he liked his life. No need to depend on too many people, not too many people depending on him.

He pocketed his hands and walked down the street, growling at the occasional person who strayed too close for his personal space. He liked his space, damn it. He'd kept his own personal bubble ever since-

_Don't think about it_. Ever since the appointment two days ago , when Yuko had mentioned his parents, it had loomed over him a bit, more so than usual. He pushed the thoughts from his mind with a skill gained from years of doing so and looked ahead at a familiar building.

He set his jaw as he opened the door to the Cat's Eye. Kurogane was certain that he was a glutton for punishment, judging by how often he returned here. Well, at least Fai would be entertaining, unless he was gone. Even then, Kurogane could call and harass him to get there. It had worked once before, so it would most likely work again.

There was a short line, and Kurogane kept his hands pocketed as the people in front of him picked up their coffee and went to sit. "Hey, where's Fai?" He asked, but it wasn't really a question, more of a demand.

Watanuki blinked at Kurogane. "Oh. Fai's upstairs with my aunt-"

"Your aunt?" Kurogane raised an eyebrow.

"Yuko. Well, she's not really my aunt, but my uncle and her were close friends so- wait you can't go up there-!" Watanuki's voice raised when Kurogane started for the stairs. "They're in a meeting-"

"Oi. Idiot. You have customers," Domeki said, holding a pan of very burned cookies. "I burned these."

The ground level of the Cat's Eye was very much entertained by Watanuki's flails and yells that he wasn't the one that was the idiot, and that only Domeki could ruin cookies that were on a timer. It was like some kind of useless power, Watanuki insisted, and demanded to know if Domeki needed a cape so he could go around the city being 'I-Burn-Cookies-And-Have-No-Excuse-Man'. Domeki had only said that Watanuki was loud.

Kurogane ignored the yelling, walking up the stairs. It was mostly empty on the second level that day, but there was Fai at a table, stirring a drink, facing away from the stairs. Yuko sat across from him, sipping at her own. She was dressed in something that defiantly wasn't professional. It had to be personal, that attire didn't speak business.

Still, what was Fai doing talking to Yuko? Kurogane narrowed his eyes, standing at the top of the stairs. He could go back downstairs, wait. Or, he could just leave. If it was business, then Kurogane really didn't have any right to be there-

"It seems someone's looking for you," Yuko said, loud enough for Kurogane to hear. Well, there went his escape. Kurogane rolled his eyes, but Yuko smiled.

Fai looked over her shoulder, looking surprised. "Kuro-puppy? Kuro-puppy! Did you come to see me today?" He laughed, waving Kurogane over. Fai looked back to Yuko, saying something that was too soft for Kurogane to hear as he shrugged and walked over.

"That's right," Yuko said, to whatever Fai had said. She stood, then smirked at Kurogane. "Kuro-puppy, eh? And here you had a problem with me simply calling you _Kurogane_. My oh my." She tapped her lips. "Now, I wonder if this'll come up later."

"It better not," Kurogane growled.

"Now now, be nice Kuro-puppy!" Fai said, standing and patting Kurogane's shoulder. He laughed, then smiled at Yuko. "Well, I think I'm in good hands now Yuko. Let's have coffee again another day, shall we?"

"I'll call you in a few days," Yuko said, smiling. "Unless you call me first." She waved at the two before starting downstairs, calling for Watanuki. At that point Watanuki's yelling completely ended and there were a few clangs.

"Watanuki's hiding now," Fai informed Kurogane, with a laugh, as he sat back against the table. "Are you here looking for lemonade? I can make you a glass, just how you like it-"

"How do you know her?" Kurogane jerked his head toward the stairs, arms crossed. The question was out there, too late to take it back. He felt as if he deserved the answer, though he couldn't explain why. They were both silent, staring at each other, neither willing to give up ground.

Fai gave in, but not in a way that Kurogane expected. "Most likely for the same reason as you, Kuro-puu. You're a patient as well, I take it? Though, technically, she can't say anything." Fai winked. "It's the law."

"You seem too happy to see a shrink." Kurogane rolled his eyes, but paused halfway when Fai's voice quieted.

"People aren't what they seem. Silly Kuro-rin." His smile was fake, but Fai spoke before Kurogane could comment on it. "Now then, Kuro-puu, lemonade?" He turned to go, but Kurogane grabbed his arm. "Kuro?" He looked over his shoulder.

"You are the happiest person I've ever seen. Ever." Kurogane narrowed his eyes. Was that supposed to be some kind of compliment? It had come out wrong, if it was. "Whatever though. I don't care why you're seeing her." He let go of Fai's arm.

"Oh. Just because I wouldn't tell you, now you'll be adult about it?" Fai teased, smiling. "Well," he said, pocketing his hands in his little work apron, "for the record, not even my employees know why I see her. So why would I tell you? Though, I might consider it, if you bribed me." He voice said it was all just a game. The chances of him telling were slim to none, and they both knew it.

"Bribe you?" Kurogane raised an eyebrow as Fai started down the stairs. He followed, watching the back of Fai's head. The blonde was still so cheerful. Kurogane wondered if there was anything wrong with him, or if he was just one of those people that went to a shrink for their 'mental health'. Or maybe Fai was secretly crazy and on some good drugs, and the day he stopped he'd go the Cat's Eye and sell stabs to the gut with a knife instead of coffee.

"Yep!" Fai linked his hands behind his head. "I've always wanted an apron of Tomoyo's design! Something with a cat on it, I think. Maybe even with 'Cat's Eye Café' on it." Fai laughed. "Wouldn't that be cute? Maybe it would have frills!"

"Your great big dark secret is worth an apron? Some secret." Kurogane shook his head, unimpressed, then stopped on the stair. "Hey. Got a counter offer."

Fai looked back. "And what's that?"

"Dinner."

Kurogane's expression didn't really change. Fai, however, looked surprised. It was a pleasant difference from the eternally-smiling expression he usually had.

Fai hadn't been expecting that, clearly. He never would have guessed that Kurogane would ask him out, as subtle as it was, in a million years. Fai's flirts, even the empty playful ones, hadn't really gotten any responses, and then there had been that thing that Kurogane had said, weeks ago, that he wasn't interested. His stomach did a small flip flop before he told it to stop. No need to get all excited. Excitement lead to getting hurt. Still, he felt hopeful, for some reason.

"Dinner?" Fai blinked, then laughed. "Well…" He thought a moment, and smiled. "Well, well, well. I get off at eight, and I think I'm in the mood for Italian. And if a certain bodyguard might be in the same mood…well. It just might be a date."

Date. There was the world the taller man hadn't wanted to say. But Fai had thrown it out there, and what else could it have been? Kurogane immediately accessed the situation, running a hand through his hair. He'd have to go home and get a different pair of clothes, and call to make a reservation.

Kurogane paused as Fai went back behind the counter. Just what was he getting into? He milled around, waiting, hands pocketed. For all he knew, Fai could be stark raving mad. Kurogane was only seeing that woman for as long as it took to get his arm. Fai had been having coffee with her. The idea was weird. Who could want her company?

He half heartedly toyed with the idea of calling it off, then decided against it. It was too late, really, as Fai came walking over with a travel cup. Not to mention he really didn't want to, that much.

"On the house," Fai said, cheerfully. When Kurogane took the cup, Fai grinned. "If you change your mind, Kuro-puppy, call me, no hard feelings. If not, well, I'll see you at eight."

"Eight," Kurogane agreed, taking a sip of the drink. Fai really did make a good lemonade. He waited until Fai turned back before heading out, glancing inside as he walked. Fai was making it easy, almost too easy. 'If you change your mind.' 'No hard feelings.' He was giving Kurogane a chance to step aside. He'd even given Kurogane the chance to call it off, and deny it as a date. But he hadn't.

Maybe Kurogane needed to go see Yuko more often, because clearly he was going crazy.

* * *

Through the rest of the day Fai was practically glowing, smiling and humming as he poured drinks or bussed tables. As eight 'o'clock drew near, and Fai didn't get any calls from Kurogane, the smiles only grew bigger. He couldn't help himself, really. Surely he'd had a little thing for Kurogane, but he hadn't been expecting this. Especially with what he'd overheard.

"I suppose you can't get all your information from just overhearing things," he said, thoughtfully. It was the true, really. And in the end, wasn't it silly to assume. After all, there was no telling that Kurogane had even been talking about him. It was self centered to even think so, Fai decided, with a nod.

Fai smiled to himself as he poured someone a refill on their plain coffee, then blinked as he saw Kurogane pass by the front windows. A quick glance over noticed the state of dress - there was at least a tie in there, and luckily Fai kept one stashed behind the counter at all times. The blond man let out a giggle, a true giggle, and dance over to the counter, setting the coffee pot back down. "Watanuki!" He said, practically bouncing as he took off his apron, folding it. "I'll be going now! You'll be okay closing tonight? If it gets too busy, you can call Touya." Fai put the apron away under the counter, where he'd gotten the tie from.

"You're really going out?" Watanuki asked, pushing his glasses up his nose as Fai pulled a tie out from under the counter. "And with Kurogane? He seems kind of sketchy, if you ask me…"

"Oh, don't worry. I know how to defend myself if Kurogane tries to take advantage of little ol' me!" Fai tossed the tie around his neck and quickly tied it. "I'll have my cell phone with me if there's an emergency and you need to call me but…well, it is a date, after all. So the café had better be on fire." Fai smiled, tightening the tie. "How do I look? Dateable?"

"Being your employee, I think that counts as sexual harassment," Watanuki said. It was playful, really. The boy was surprisingly snarky and playful, in his own way, once you got to know him. Few really got that close enough. Most people just saw the spazz of him, labeled him as the 'weird kid' and left him alone. It was their loss, Fai thought.

"Oh, well, it's good I don't plan on seducing you tonight, Watanuki. Maybe tomorrow!" Fai grinned before turning when the door opened. "Well Kuro-puro! Since you're here, I'm guessing there's a dinner in my near future?"

"Yeah, something like that. I know it's not classy, but there's a place nearby that's not far of a walk." Kurogane shrugged. He watched as Fai pulled on his jacket. The café owner was wearing the same shirt and pants that he'd had from earlier, but the addition of the tie, and something in the body language, had completely changed the outfit. Perhaps it was just that he looked almost relaxed. Kurogane frowned, mentally. Did that mean that all day Fai was stressed, holding in tension? He'd never noticed - the blond had always looked so chipper and happy, even on the bad day from awhile back. "But hey, the deal stands, right?"

"Of course." Fai laughed as he passed by Kurogane. "Bribing me with dinner to learn why I'm seeing Yuko, correct? But remember, I did only say that I would consider it!" He opened the door, holding it open for a young woman walking in.

Chivalrous, Kurogane noted, with some amusement. When the door was closed and they were on their way, Kurogane shrugged. "You know what. You don't have to tell me if you don't want. I mean, a secret worth a dinner can't be that great." Hell, Kurogane wanted to know. He was curious, but at the same time he didn't want to ruin whatever things could be ruined on a dinner. - or, rather, on a first date.

"A date," Fai corrected, almost echoing Kurogane's thoughts. He linked his arm through Kurogane's, smiling up at the other man. "Well, let's see how you feel by the end. If you still want to know, maybe I'll tell you. Or, I could remain mysterious. Why are you seeing Yuko, again?"

"Gotta make sure I'm not crazy." Kurogane shrugged, leaving it at that. He didn't bother to pull his arm away. If Fai was anything, he was tenacious, given what he'd seen and heard. He probably would have just linked his arm again until Kurogane gave up. Kurogane didn't like his personal space being invaded, but for now he'd stand it.

"Crazy?" Fai laughed. "Oh Kuro-puppy, we're all crazy here."

The restaurant was warm, inviting, and decently intimate when wanted, like when one went on a date with a local café owner. Kurogane had been here once or twice when Tomoyo had demanded they go out for lunch, so he had a pretty good idea of the menu.

When they sat down and looked over the menus, Kurogane was fine. He wasn't much for small talk, but he could stand it, and when the conversation trailed to something he knew about and was interested in, he could stretch out the topic until a new tangent was reached. He was feeling pretty confident, really, until it came time to order.

Fai delivered the orders without stammering over the words, uncertain of pronunciation. In fact, he delivered the entire order in Italian, and the words flowed with the ease of fluency. He also ordered wine to match the meals, both his own and Kurogane's, without even needing a suggestion. The waiter looked surprised, Kurogane felt surprised, and Fai looked smug.

"Didn't I mention?" Fai smiled when the waiter left with their menus. "It must have slipped my mind. I can speak Italian. I spent a summer in Italy in high school, and a year in Italy when I was in college. It was pretty grand. I learned to cook there for fun, though it's a bit wasted on me." He took a drink of water, giving Kurogane an opportunity to think and speak.

"I wasn't expecting that," Kurogane said, with a shrug. "Then again, I guess I don't know much about you, now do I." It wasn't a question, it was more like a demand veiled in a statement.

"Oh?" Fai smiled, leaning forward slightly. "Is that your way of saying 'tell me more about yourself Fai, you are so interesting'?" When Kurogane just shrugged, Fai laughed. "Well, okay. As you know now, I can speak Italian. I can also speak French and Spanish, but my Spanish is a little shaky. My Japanese is sufferable, but I wouldn't trust myself to know anything besides 'where's the bathroom' and 'how much is this'." He laughed again, and Kurogane found himself smirking.

"Well learned, huh? Music?"

"I can play the piano, and I'm decent with a guitar, but who isn't?"

"I meant what you listen to."

Fai laughed again. "In that case, well, a little bit of everything. If I like it, I listen to it. That goes for a lot of things. If I like a food, I'll eat it. If I like a book, I'll read it. If I like it, I'll do it." Fai smiled in a different way than usual, hunting at the euphemism in that last part. "I like to think I'm not very complicated in things like that."

"So, are you complicated in other things?" Kurogane raised an eyebrow.

Fai just smiled. "…So, Kuro-puppy, how do you spend your free time, when you aren't guarding Tomoyo?"

Kurogane found the change in conversation odd, but if Fai didn't want to talk about something, he wouldn't press. For now, at least. "Whatever I want. Usually I do some training, weight lifting and stuff, but I usually just end up doing chores and stuff I miss during work. Sometimes I play some video games." He shrugged.

"Video games, huh? What kind?"

The tangent lead them long enough for their dinner and drinks to arrive without having to change the topic again. Kurogane watched Fai candidly. The blond was tidy, and proper, clearly had manners that had probably been taught since the time he could learn them. High class manners too. Kurogane found it odd. Certainly if Fai was from money he could have afforded a nicer café, not that the Cat's Eye wasn't nice. Certainly, he probably wouldn't have even needed a café, if there was enough money. And why a café? Why not banking, or stocks, or medical? Of course, Kurogane had a hard time imagining Fai as any of those things. He was too colorful for banking, too easy going for stocks, and not profession enough for be a doctor. The café just suited him, so maybe that was the only answer to be given.

The conversation shifted to their food. Kurogane just said offhandedly that he wasn't much of a cook, but he enjoyed a good meal, didn't matter from where. "As you put it, 'if it's good, I'll eat it'," Kurogane said, and Fai laughed.

"You know, Kuro-puppy, I was a bit surprised when you suggested this." Fai smiled. Their dinner was gone by now, and now it was the brief finishing-their-drinks part. "A while back, I thought you said you weren't interested."

"What? When did I say that?" Kurogane thought back, then narrowed his eyes. "That on rainy day?"

"That's the one."

"Oh. No, I was talking about someone else. A…" he paused, thinking of how to put it.

"Well, it's probably either a booty call or an ex, either one is fine, Kuro-puu." Fai laughed. "It's not as if I expect that you've been single all your life, or a virgin. Not in this day and age. If you are, well, good for you, if you aren't, that's perfectly fine."

"Fine, then, a booty call." Kurogane shrugged. "He wanted more, I didn't. End of story."

Fai smiled again, but there was something dark behind it. Kurogane wasn't sure what to think, but before he could ask Fai stood up. "Well then, shall we go, Kuro-puppy? After all, you still need to walk me home, right? It's the gentleman thing to do!"

Kurogane rolled his eyes and stood as well. When the check was paid and they were both on their way, Kurogane was pleased enough, though it didn't show. The dinner had gone well enough, and he could safely say that he was interested. Oh yes. Still, there was no telling if Fai was, or it he was just humoring him or something. Kurogane wouldn't put it past Fai to play cat-and-mouse with Kurogane, just to get a free dinner. He didn't like the idea, but he could see it.

The walk was brisk and cool, and for the first time in a long while Kurogane found himself looking around at the buildings. Fai seemed to have a story for everything. Every building, every bum on the street, every boarded up building or one in disrepair.

"That building? Ten years ago, there was a fight club in the basement. The police broke it up," Fai said, pointing at a lively movie rental store. "And oh, that grocery store, rumor has it that when this town started a brothel was on the lot. And that bar has some of the best small brewery beers in the area. Are you a beer man, Kuro-puppy? Well, even if you're not, there's sure to be at least one there to like!"

The stories only grew as the setting changed from commercial to residential, from stores to homes and apartment buildings. It was a colorful, middle-class neighborhood, mostly clean. Windows were open despite the cooling night, music filled the air from said windows, and people sat on their stoops, smoking and talking and watching the children on the sidewalk. As much as Fai seemed to fit in the café, Kurogane thought that he fit in that space too. He just couldn't place why.

"Well, this is me," Fai said, pointing at a building. "So, now we have a little talk before I head up." Fai smiled, looking up at Kurogane. "If this was a one-time thing, that's just fine Kuro-puro. If you'd like to see me again in this sort of fashion, you know where to find me, and you have my number. To be honest, I'm really hoping for that second one." Fai's smile softened slightly, looking almost vulnerable, and for a moment he seemed to hesitate before speaking again. "Either way, you're always welcome at the café, you know."

"Good to know." Kurogane liked the no pressure thing. Made things a lot easier to take another step when he got home.

"I had a fun time tonight," Fai said. He stepped forward toward Kurogane, resting a hand on his chest. He tilted his head upward, leaned in close.

A kiss on the first date? Kurogane wasn't about to argue. It was a common enough thing. Fai had gotten it right earlier. Sex was almost a casual social activity these days. Kurogane had had plenty of dates just to bump uglies at the end, and that was just fine with him. Kurogane closed his eyes, automatically tilting his head slightly. Closer, closer, until Kurogane just knew that Fai was centimeters away, and then -

"Good night, Kuro-puro." Fai stepped back and, with a whistling tune, walked up the steps, punched in the code for the door, and waved as he went in. He hadn't kissed Kurogane, and he was grinning like an idiot.

Kurogane opened his eyes and stared at the glass doors, watching as Fai went up the stairs in the lobby. The hell? What had just happened? He clenched his hand into a fist and then dug around in his pockets for his cellphone. He flipped it open and scrolled through his phone book until he found Fai's number, pressing the call button and holding it to his ear.

Fai's phone rang as he got to his door, unlocking and opening it while he answered. "Hello?"

"God damn it Fai. What are you doing tomorrow night?"

Fai almost laughed at Kurogane's voice. "Well, that depends. Am I lucky enough to maybe have some dinner and drinks with a bodyguard?"

"I'll pick you up at eight." The line went dead, and Fai fell into laughter as closed his door.

With a light heart, Fai stepped into his house and went to his bedroom, getting his pajamas. A shower and bed sounded like the perfect end to this little night. As he stripped and stepped into the shower, leaving his cellphone on the sink's edge just in case, he smiled. It really had been a fun night, and he'd been tempted to actually kiss Kurogane. But no, it was always sweeter when it was worked for, as were other things, but Fai never fucked until at least the third date.

The hot water felt good against his skin, easing a few worries he'd had going into dinner. He would have been fine even if Kurogane hadn't called, but he was glad that the other man had. Kurogane had come into the café so many times. They'd talked, certainly, but it had always been to pass the time while Kurogane awaited a drink, or while he was waiting for Tomoyo, or it was only brief conversations. He had a rough idea about the man, but certainly nothing deep.

It had to work the other way around. Fai chewed on his lip, suddenly, almost frowning. He'd talked about himself quite a bit tonight. Nothing compromising, but still. When, or if, Kurogane found out about his past... "…Well then, I'll just have to get Kuro-puppy to do the talking, next time." He didn't bother to force a smile, just rested his head under the spray of the water.

As soon as he finished his shower Fai stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist, opening the medicine cabinet of his mirror and pulling out a pair of orange-colored bottles. "Take once a day," he read, cheerfully, opening one and tapping a pill into his hand. He set it on the side of the sink and closed the bottle, looking at the other. "You though, I just take when I need a little help," he said to the bottle, opening it as well. He removed a pill from that bottle and picked up the other, tossing them both back and swallowing them dry. Contently he put the bottles away.

Something to keep the dreams away. Something to usher sleep faster.

He brushed his teeth, dried off, and dressed in his pajamas quickly, before the medication took effect. It didn't take long for his eyes to droop closed, and he fell in a blissfully nightmare and guilt free sleep.


End file.
